The Sennheiser RS-220 Digital Wireless Audiophile Headphones are the latest release from Sennheiser – a German audio manufacturer, based in Wedemark, Germany for well over 60 years.

The Sennheiser RS-220 Digital Wireless Audiophile Headphones are designed for Audiophiles (Latin for Lover of Audio) as they are circumaural (open air design), and audio connoisseurs, who want the highest quality, best sounding, without compromised on design, quality, performance, but with the added flexibility of audio input sources as well and completely wireless.

The RS 220’s Wireless Audiophile Headphones are the pinnacle of Sennheiser’s wireless range, and use high quality construction materials, which allows these earphones to produce astounding wireless audio which is uncompressed, and distortion and noise-free – the only noise is in the headphones – where it counts.

Design and Build Quality

From the moment you see the design of the Sennheiser RS-220, you realise you are using high-end audio equipment which is solid yet not too heavy and has many audio features. The shiny black look with chrome coloured accents really makes these stand out. The stand is a big L-shape, which is deliberate, as it’s the wireless transmitter and the stand to charge the internal (and replaceable batteries) – dual purpose, and the base serves a third purpose – connectivity as all connections are on the rear of the base, including AC adapter for power. Volume controls are on the headphones and base as well.

The base contains RCA inputs and outputs, One Optical and digital coaxial input, plus an analogue audio input out, and up to two pairs of headphones for connection as well – a first I have seen in my life, and as of yet I know no other brand that has this functionality, and due to the optical input you can connect your Xbox / PS3 console from optical out straight to these to hear pure digital sound – again a first.

Features

* Open, circumaural digital wireless headphones

* Uncompressed digital audio transmission

* Transmitter features one analogue audio input

* Range up to 100m (line of sight) from sound source and up to 30 metres indoors

* Power On / Off / Balance Control / Volume Control integrated into headphones

* Multi-purpose Transmitter – Easy-Charge Station and Cradle

* Extremely confortable and luxurious velour ear pads

* Rechargeable integrated batteries (replaceable)

* 2 year warranty

Performance

For testing and review purposes I used the Sennheiser RS 220’s with the latest generation iPod touch 64GB with a FiiO E17 portable amplifier with no EQ settings enabled. This allows me to hear the 320KBPS audio without the restriction of the iPod amplifier, which is low powered. I also connected my Xbox 360 and PS3 via optical out from the console to the headphones to play games on these and they sound amazing.

The sound isolation with the RS-220 is very good, and these are an open-ear design (not fully closed dynamic), so on high volumes some people may hear the audio. As for the actual sound quality and soundstage, etc I would rank these RS-220’s as the best open-ear digital wireless headphones I have ever heard. No distortion, no hissing, and all audio is uncompressed and crystal clear and balanced. Games sound incredible with these – plenty of punch.

I also listened to a variety of pop / rock / classical / soundtracks / hip hop / orchestral and these never had an issue – perfect reproduction, in fact to such a point you could hear the hiss of synthesizers in the music before the orchestra kicked in – that’s German engineering at it’s best. The soundstage (width of audio) is amazing, for wireless headphones, in fact it’s beyond comprehension how the Engineers at Sennheiser did this – well it worked. Lows, treble, mids and highs are all spot on, and these can really crank the bass when needed – all with no distortion.

Specifications

* Headphone type: Circumaural (Open ear)

* Operating time: 6 hours to 8 hours

* Frequency Response – 16hz to 22,000hz

* Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) – <0.1% (1 kHz – 100db SPL)

* Weight – 484g

* Power Consumption: 0.30W Standby

* AC Power supply included

* 2 x NiMH rechargeable batteries included

* RCA Cables / Adapters / Instruction Guide

* 2 Year Warranty

Price

The Recommended Retail Price of the Sennheiser RS-220 is $599 Australian (including GST).

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